1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to video editing software, and more particularly to an improved user interface for organizing, selecting, and applying video effects according to zones.
2. Description of the Background Art
Video editing software programs allow users to perform sophisticated video editing functions on commonly available consumer-level equipment. Users can record home movies on a digital camcorder, such as a JVC or Sony DV-format camcorder, and transfer the movies to a personal computer via an IEEE-1394 connection or other high-bandwidth data connection. Once the video files have been transferred to the computer, the video editing software allows the user to rearrange, trim, and edit video clips in order to create a finished movie. Such video editing software packages include, for example, Adobe Premiere (available from Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, Calif.) and Pinnacle Studio DV (available from Pinnacle Systems Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.).
Some video editing software packages allow the user to perform many different types of operations and to apply different types of special effects and transformations to video clips. These include altering the color balance, adding transitions between clips, superimposing artwork, titles, and/or captions, adding music or sound effects, and many more. Users can select among these various options by activating commands within the user interface for the video editing software, for example by dragging icons representing various effects, or by selecting from a displayed set of transformations.
For novice users, the number of available special effects may be overwhelming. Such users may be interested in applying special effects to their home movies in order to make the movies more interesting or fun to watch, but may be daunted by the prospect of learning to use a sophisticated video editing software program that provides a surfeit of options at every stage of interaction. Many people attempt to undertake home moving editing projects, but fail to complete them because of the time-consuming nature of the editing process, particularly when the editing task involves defining numerous edit points and selecting appropriate effects for each edit point. Such users may therefore give up on attempting to use the video editing program, or may use only a limited subset of the program's functionality. In addition, users may become frustrated if some effects are not applicable to certain portions of video clips, and they may seek guidance in determining which effects to select for each portion.
What is needed is a mechanism for simplifying the selection and application of special effects in a video editing software application, so as to make it easier for novice users to find and apply effects appropriate to particular portions of video clips. What is further needed is a mechanism that provides users with guidance as to which effects are appropriate for which portions of video clips. What is further needed is an improved organizational scheme for video effects.
What is further needed is a user interface that provides improved organization, selection, and application of video effects so as to enable novice users to more easily perform video editing operations. What is further needed is a user interface that organizes video effects according to zones, so that only those effects applicable to a selected zone are made available at any particular time.